EKOL logistics to start new Ro-Ro service between Izmir and Tarragona port

Tarragona, Spain (PortSEurope) February 10, 2021 - The president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep M Cruset, and the president of the logistics company EKOL Logistics, Ahmet Musul, have jointly presented a new commercial Ro-Ro route with the port of Izmir, Turkey, and Tarrgona port. The new weekly service will have the capacity to move around 210 Ro-Ro transport units (UTIs), including both trucks and semi-trailers as well as the possibility of loading containers, heavy machinery or special loads. The route begins its operations with an imported cargo made up of about 150 trucks for the transport of goods on behalf of a major textile multinational. EKOL Logistics is cooperating with DFDS shipping company, Grupo Arola and the Euroports terminal. The president of EKOL Logistics, Ahmet Musul, affirms that “the new operation will mean that Tarragona will be the mainland port with the fastest connection with Turkey, under three days, and given that it is a RoRo connection, it allows us to achieve extremely competitive and agile port-to-door times”. EKOL Logistics' global logistics service connects Tarragona and Izmir in 60 hours and can deliver in 96 hours in Spain. Make collections anywhere in the state until Wednesday afternoon and deliver to any point in Turkey on Mondays. And in the opposite direction, it makes collections anywhere in Turkey until Saturday afternoon and deliveries to any point in Spain on Wednesdays. An opportunity for the future Ahmet Musul considers that "Tarragona has the potential to become a key logistics node for EKOL Logistics, such as Trieste in Italy or Sète in France", referring to two ports where this company has been working for years and from where it connects with destinations in central and northern Europe. The company offers a similar intermodal service from Sète via the VIIA rail service of the French train company SCNF Logistics) to the Benelux and from Triestre to Germany, Hungary and other Central and Eastern European countries. EKOL Logistics is a company with extensive experience in intermodal transport. It has turned this service into its competitive advantage and with this new route it makes a clear and determined commitment to promoting intermodality in anticipation of the Mediterranean Corridor becoming operational. A railway logistics infrastructure that together with the Spanish ports - and in this case Tarragona - is called to be a great alternative for the entry and exit of goods to Europe and to the rest of the world. A potential that will be even greater with the adaptation of the railway network for the P400 (train wagons for the transport of semi-trailers), to achieve full operability and competitiveness of this type of door-to-door intermodal services capable of supplying multimodal land transport and thus reduce the carbon footprint. Ahmet Musul expressed "the need for the entry into service of the Mediterranean Corridor as soon as possible to be able to take advantage of the enormous potential of the Port of Tarragona to introduce general cargo to the heart of Europe by rail without forgetting good Iberian railway infrastructures that allow the transport of the P400 " The president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep M Cruset, has declared that "the route and the possibilities it opens up are a significant improvement in general cargo traffic and a step forward for the Port and for the territory". Cruset has affirmed that both he and the technical managers of the Port Authority are “convinced that this new route will benefit the Port's traffic diversification plans, the promotion of intermodality and, at the same time, the enhancement of the investments it is making the port of Tarragona: the construction of the new Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL) and the Guadalajara Intermodal Terminal ”. For the president of the Port of Tarragona "the arrival of this new traffic strengthens relations and commercial routes with a very interesting market for the Port and for the territory, such as Turkey". Cruset believes that "this is a great opportunity as it opens the door to other companies interested in exporting to Turkey." In this sense, the president of EKOL Logistics highlighted “the opportunities offered by collaboration between his company and the Port of Tarragona, since this short sea shipping service could lead to a significant increase in the Port of Tarragona traffic in the medium term, through a highly sustainable logistics service that improves in all aspects the commercial exchange between Spain and Turkey, such as faster, more efficient and more reduced carbon footprint ”. DFDS The shipping company responsible for the new route is DFDS, a Danish international transport and logistics company. The shifty ship "Super-Fast Baleares" is in charge of joining the ports of Tarragona and Izmir (Turkey). Last week, "SF Baleares" carried out a successful test in the Port of Tarragona, together with the rest of the companies involved, to set up operations for this first trip on the Izmir-Tarragona route. The arrival in Tarragona of the maiden voyage of this route took place on February 9 at 10:00 p.m. and the return will be today Wednesday at around 11:00 p.m., marking the weekly rotation that the new route will have. The company Euroports is the logistics operator that will manage the terminal where vehicle loading and unloading will take place. The company will also carry out customs and transport services to the different inland destinations where the goods will be transferred. Pablo García, General Director of Euroports in the Mediterranean, considers that "this new Izmir-Tarragona route has the potential to become one of the most important traffic in the Port of Tarragona". To this end, Euroports inaugurates in Tarragona a new terminal specialized in road traffic, "with a dedicated surface of 30,000 square meters in which we believe will become a reference enclave in the Mediterranean." For García, “it is one more step in the Euroports Group's commitment to Tarragona as the engine of our strategy in southern Europe. The management of the terminals in Italy, Turkey and the south of France has been centralized in Tarragona with the aim of increasing traffic between terminals and strengthening the relationship with our clients, becoming their reference to cover their logistics needs in any location in the Mediterranean arc. The incorporation of the new Ro-Ro facility in Tarragona fits perfectly with this vision, opening up a range of synergies and new logistics possibilities for our clients. " Source: Autoridad Portuaria de Tarragona (APT - Port Authority of Tarragona) Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2021.

EKOL logistics to start new Ro-Ro service between Izmir and Tarragona port

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EKOL logistics to start new Ro-Ro service between Izmir and Tarragona port

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All news

Kazakhstan’s ports handled 6.2 mln tonnes of cargo in Jan-Oct’24

DFDS bought Ekol Logistics at the end

Two cocaine shipments, 720 kg and 720 kg, seized in Vlissingen port

Malta sees reduced cruise ship passengers in Q3 2024

Greater Odessa ports increase turnover in Jan-Sep 2024

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports